Correlation between Body Mass Index and Body Fat Percentage

Abstract: Body mass index
(BMI) has been used to determine the nutritional status which is classified
into low, normal, overweight or obese. The BMI only shows a comparison of
height and weight instead of body composition which consists of fat mass and
fat–free mass. Most of people assumed that BMI overage means fat mass overage
as well, yet it does not occur in all cases. This study was conducted to
measure the correlation between BMI and body fat percentage.

Methods: An analytical study was conducted to 100 male and female
students respectively from Universitas Padjadjaran Jatinangor batch 2009 to
2013. The body weight was measured using
scales , whereas the body height was measured using stature meter. The body fat
percentage was measured using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA). The BMI
was calculated by dividing the body weight in kilogram divided by body height
in meter square. Data was collected from September to October 2013 and analyzed
by Pearson’s correlation test.

Results: The mean of BMI in male students and female students were 22.56
and 21.35 respectively. The body fat percentage was 16.44 for men and 28.09 for
women. Correlation score between BMI and fat mass in male students were 0.853
and female students are 0.834.

Conclusions: There is a strong and positive correlation between BMI and
body fat percentage both in male and female students in Universitas Padjadjaran
Jatinangor. Among this population, BMI can still be used todetermine body fat
percentage.